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Call to Pray for Persecuted Christian Children

 

Wednesday August 14 2013

A charity which helps persecuted Christians around the world is asking churches to remember and pray for Christian children this autumn.

Barnabas Fund’s Suffering Church Action Week, which will run from October 27 to November 3, this year has the theme ‘Children of Courage – Raising Tomorrow’s Church’.

The organisation’s International Director, Dr Patrick Sookhdeo, says: “Sadly, the suffering of persecuted Christian children is a world-wide tragedy. Being born into a despised or persecuted Christian community often means growing up hungry, because discrimination bars many parents from all but the poorest-paid jobs. Their little ones grow up without proper nourishment, and some children are deprived of a childhood because they have to work to help support their family. In Pakistan, many parents are forced to choose between feeding their child and paying for school fees.

“Even when Christian parents are able to send their children to school, they have no certainty that the children will be well-treated there. Christian schoolchildren in many countries face discrimination in the classroom and pressure to convert to the majority religion. They could even be deliberately failed in their exams, an injustice that destroys their opportunity to lift their family out of poverty. And some children are not safe from violence in the classroom.

“In the face of these many pressures, persecuted Christian children need both practical support and spiritual encouragement.”

Dr Sookhdeo adds that Christian children in Syria are at particular risk in the country’s conflict, and that the Barnabas Fund is launching a sponsorship initiative specifically for Syrian children.

A resource pack on Suffering Church Action Week and more information are available from the Barnabas Fund here.

 


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